In this online interactive I-book, we bring to the attention of our readers a selection of feature articles on the Syrian crisis.
Our objective is to dispel the tide of media lies and government propaganda, which presents the events in Syria as a "peaceful protest movement".
The "protests" did not emanate from internal political cleavages as described by the mainstream media. From the very outset, they were the result of a covert US-NATO intelligence operation geared towards triggering social chaos, with a view to eventually discrediting the Syrian government of Bashar Al Assad and destabilizing Syria as a Nation State.

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“In
order to facilitate the action of liberative (sic) forces, ...a special
effort should be made to eliminate certain key individuals. ...[to] be
accomplished early in the course of the uprising and intervention, ...

Once a political decision has been reached to proceed with internal
disturbances in Syria, CIA is prepared, and SIS (MI6) will attempt to
mount minor sabotage and coup de main (sic) incidents within Syria,
working through contacts with individuals. ...Incidents should not be
concentrated in Damascus …

Further : a “necessary degree of fear .. frontier incidents
and (staged) border clashes”, would “provide a
pretext for intervention... the CIA and SIS [MI6] should use
… capabilities in both psychological and action fields to
augment tension.” (Joint
US-UK leaked Intelligence Document, London and Washington, 1957)

In this online interactive I-book, we bring to the attention of our
readers a selection of feature articles on the Syrian crisis.
Our objective is to dispel the tide of media lies and government
propaganda, which presents the events in Syria as a "peaceful protest
movement".

The
"protests" did not emanate from internal political cleavages as
described by the mainstream media. From the very outset, they were the
result of a covert US-NATO intelligence operation geared
towards triggering social chaos, with a view to eventually discrediting
the Syrian government of Bashar Al Assad and destabilizing
Syria as a Nation State.

Since
the middle of March 2011, Islamist armed groups --covertly supported by
Western and Israeli intelligence-- have conducted terrorist attacks
directed against government buildings including acts of arson. Amply
documented, trained gunmen and snipers including mercenaries have
targeted the police, armed forces as well as innocent civilians. There
is ample evidence, as outlined in the Arab League Observer Mission
report, that these armed groups of mercenaries are responsible for
killing civilians.
While the Syrian government and military bear a heavy burden of
responsibility. it is important to underscore the fact that these
terrorist acts --including the indiscriminate killing of
men, women and children-- are part of a US-NATO-Israeli
initiative, which consists is supporting, training
and financing "an armed entity" operating inside
Syria.

The evidence confirms that foreign intelligence operatives,
according to reports, have integrated rebel
ranks:

"As the unrest and
killings escalate in the troubled Arab state, agents
from MI6 and the CIA are already in Syria assessing the situation,
a security official has revealed. Special
forces are also talking to Syrian dissident soldiers.
They want to know about weapons and communications kit rebel forces
will need if the Government decides to help.

“MI6 and the CIA are in Syria to infiltrate and get at the
truth,” said the well-placed source. “We have SAS
and SBS not far away who want to know what is happening and are finding
out what kit dissident
soldiers need." " Syria will be bloodiest
yet, Daily Star). (emphasis added)

The Free
Syrian Army (FSA) is a creation of the US and NATO. The objective of
this armed insurrection is to trigger the response of the police and
armed forces, including the deployment of tanks and armored vehicles
with a view to eventually justifying a military intervention,
under NATO's "responsibility to protect"
mandate.

A
NATO-led intervention is on the drawing board. It was drafted prior to
the onset of the protest movement in March 2011. According to military
and intelligence sources, NATO, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been
discussing "the form this intervention would take".

US, British and Turkish
operatives are supplying the rebels with weapons. Britain's Ministry of
Defence confirms that it "is drawing up secret plans for a
NATO-sponsored no-fly zone [in coordination with its allies] "but first
it needs backing from the United Nations Security Council." (Syria will be bloodiest
yet, Daily Star).
According to these secret plans: "fighting in Syria could
be bigger and bloodier than the battle against Gaddafi".(Ibid ).

A "humanitarian" military intervention
modeled on Libya is contemplated. NATO Special Forces from Britain,
France, Qatar and Turkey are already on the ground inside Syria in
blatant violation of international law. Reports
from British military sources (November 2011) confirm that:

"British
Special forces have met up with members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA)...
The apparent goal of this initial contact was to establish the rebel
forces' strength and to pave the way for any future training
operations. ... More recent reports have stated that British
and French Special Forces have been actively training members of the
FSA, from a base in Turkey. Some
reports indicate that training is also taking place in locations in
Libya and Northern Lebanon. British
MI6 operatives and UKSF (SAS/SBS) personnel have reportedly been
training the rebels in urban warfare
as well as supplying them with arms and equipment. US CIA operatives
and special forces are believed to be providing communications
assistance to the rebels." Elite Forces UK,
January 5, 2012 (emphasis added)

The Social and Political Context in Syria

There is
certainly cause for social unrest and mass protest in Syria:
unemployment has increased in recent years, social conditions have
deteriorated, particularly since the adoption in 2006 of sweeping
economic reforms under IMF guidance. The later
include austerity measures, a freeze on wages, the
deregulation of the financial system, trade reform and privatization.
(See IMF Syrian Arab Republic — IMF Article IV Consultation Mission's
Concluding Statement,
2006).

Moreover,
there are serious divisions within the government and the military. The
populist policy framework of the Baath party has largely been eroded. A
faction within the ruling political establishment has embraced the
neoliberal agenda. In turn, the adoption of IMF "economic medicine" has
served to enrich the ruling economic elite. Pro-US factions have also
developed within the upper echelons of the Syrian military and
intelligence.

But the
"pro-democracy" movement integrated by Islamists and supported by NATO
and the "international community" did not emanate from the mainstay of
Syrian civil society.

The wave of violent protests represents a very small fraction of Syrian
public opinion. They are terrorist acts of a sectarian nature. They do
not in any way address the broader issues of social inequality, civil
rights and unemployment.

The
majority of Syria's population (including the opponents of
the Al Assad government) do not support the "protest movement" which is
characterised by an armed insurgency. In fact quite the opposite.

Ironically,
despite its authoritarian nature, there is considerable popular support
for the government of President Bashar Al Assad, which is confirmed by
the large pro-government rallies.

Syria
constitutes the only (remaining) independent secular state in the Arab
world. Its populist, anti-Imperialist and secular base is inherited
from the dominant Baath party, which integrates Muslims, Christians and
Druze. It supports the struggle of the Palestinian people.

The
objective of the US-NATO alliance is to ultimately displace and destroy
the Syrian secular State, displace or co-opt the national economic
elites and eventually replace the Syrian government of Bashar
Al Assad with an Arab sheikdom, a pro-US Islamic republic or a
compliant pro-US "democracy".

Pro-government rally, Damascus, March 2011

The Insurgency: The Libya Model

The
insurgency in Syria has similar features to that of Libya: it is
integrated by paramilitary brigades affiliated to Al Qaeda, which are
directly supported by NATO and Turkey.

Reports
confirm that NATO and Turkey's High Command are providing the rebels
with weapons and training: "NATO strategists are thinking more in terms
of pouring large quantities of anti-tank and anti-air rockets, mortars
and heavy machine guns into the protest centers for beating back the
government armored forces." (DEBKAfile, NATO to give rebels
anti-tank weapons, August 14, 2011)

Military
sources also confirm that Syrian rebels "have been training in the use
of the new weapons with Turkish military officers at makeshift
installations in Turkish bases near the Syrian border." (DEBKAfile, Ibid). Recent
reports confirm that British and Qatari Special forces are on the
ground in the city of Homs, involved in training rebel forces as well
as organizing the supply of weapons in liaison with the Turkish
military.

As in
the case of Libya, financial support is being channelled to the Syrian
rebel forces by Saudi Arabia: "Ankara and Riyadh will provide
the anti-Assad movements with large quantities of weapons and funds to
be smuggled in from outside Syria" (Ibid). The deployment of Saudi and
GCC troops is also contemplated in Southern Syria in coordination with
Turkey (Ibid).

NATO's
activities are not limited to training and the delivery of weapons
systems, the recruitment of thousands of "freedom fighters"` is also
envisaged, reminiscent of the enlistment of
Mujahideen to wage the CIA's jihad (holy war) in the heyday of the
Soviet-Afghan war:

This
recruitment of Mujahideen was part of NATO`s strategy in Libya, where
mercenary forces were dispatched to fight under the helm of "former"
Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) Commander Abdel
Hakim Belhadj.

The
Libyan model of rebel forces integrated by "Islamic brigades" together
with NATO special forces has been applied to Syria, where "Islamist
fighters" supported by Western and Israeli intelligence are
deployed. In this regard, Abdel Hakim`s LIFG brigade
has now been dispatched to Syria, where it is involved in terrorist
acts under the supervision of NATO Special Forces.

The
Central Role of US Ambassador Robert S. Ford

US
Ambassador Robert S. Ford was dispatched to Damascus in late January
2011 at the height of the protest movement in Egypt. (The
author was in Damascus on January 27, 2011 when Washington's Envoy
presented his credentials to the Al Assad government).

At the
outset of my visit to Syria in January 2011, I reflected on
the significance of this diplomatic appointment and the role it might
play in a covert process of political destabilization. I did not,
however, foresee that this destabilization agenda would be implemented
within less than two months following the instatement of
Robert S. Ford as US Ambassador to Syria.

The
reinstatement of a US ambassador in Damascus, but more specifically the
choice of Robert S. Ford as US ambassador, bears a direct relationship
to the onset of the protest movement in mid-March against the
government of Bashar al Assad.

Robert
S. Ford was the man for the job. As "Number Two" at the US embassy in
Baghdad (2004-2005) under the helm of Ambassador John D. Negroponte, he
played a key role in implementing the Pentagon's "Iraq Salvador
Option". The latter consisted in supporting Iraqi death squadrons and
paramilitary forces modelled on the experience of
Central America.

It is worth noting that Obama's
newly appointed CIA head, General David Petraeus played a key role the
organization of covert support to rebel forces and "freedom fighters",
the infiltration of Syrian intelligence and armed forces,
etc. Petraeus led the Multi-National Security Transition
Command (MNSTC) "Counterinsurgency" program in Baghdad in
2004 in coordination with John Negroponte and Robert S Ford at the US
Embassy in Baghdad.

Ambassador Ford in
Hama in July 2011

The Insidious Role of the
Western media

The role
of the US-NATO-Israel military alliance in triggering an armed
insurrection is not addressed by the Western media. Moreover, several
"progressive voices" have accepted the "NATO consensus" at face value.
The role of CIA-MI6 covert intelligence operations in support of armed
groups is simply not mentioned. Salafist paramilitary groups involved
in terrorist acts, are, according to reports, supported covertly by
Israeli intelligence (Mossad). The Muslim Brotherhood has been
supported by Turkey, as well as by MI6, Britain's Secret Service (SIS)
since the 1950s

More
generally, the Western media has misled public opinion on the nature of
the Arab protest movement by failing to address the support provided by
the US State Department as well as US foundations (including the
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)) to selected pro-US opposition
groups.

The
protest movement in Syria was upheld by the media as part of the "Arab
Spring", presented to public opinion as a pro-democracy protest
movement which spread spontaneously from Egypt and the Maghreb to the
Mashriq. There is reason to believe, however, that events in
Syria, however, were planned well in advance in coordination with the
process of regime change in other Arab countries including Egypt and
Tunisia.

The
outbreak of the protest movement in the southern border city of Daraa
was carefully timed to follow the events in Tunisia and Egypt.

In
chorus they have described recent events in Syria as a "peaceful
protest movement" directed against the government of Bashar Al Assad,
when the evidence amply confirms that Islamic paramilitary groups are
involved in terrorist acts. These same Islamic groups have infiltrated
the protest rallies.

Western
media distortions abound. Large "pro-government" rallies (including
photographs) are casually presented as "evidence" of a mass
anti-government protest movement. The reports on casualties are based
on unconfirmed "eye-witness reports" or on Syrian opposition sources in
exile. The London based Syria Observatory for Human Rights
are profusely quoted by the Western media as a "reliable source" with
the usual disclaimers. Israeli news sources, while avoiding the issue
of an armed insurgency, tacitly acknowledge that Syrian forces are
being confronted by an organized professional paramilitary.

The
absence of verifiable data, has not prevented the Western media from
putting forth "authoritative figures" on the number of casualties. What
are the sources of this data? Who is responsible for the casualties?

Dangerous
Crossroads: Towards a Broader Middle East Central Asian War

Escalation
is an integral part of the military agenda. Destabilization of
sovereign states through "regime change" is closely coordinated with
military planning. There is a military roadmap characterised by a
sequence of US-NATO war theaters.

War
preparations to attack Syria and Iran have been in "an advanced state
of readiness" for several years.

US, NATO
and Israeli military planners have outlined the contours of a
"humanitarian" military campaign, in which Turkey (the second largest
military force inside NATO) would play a central role.

We are
at dangerous crossroads. Were a US-NATO military operation to be
launched against Syria, the broader Middle East Central Asian region
extending from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border with China would be engulfed in the turmoil
of an extended regional war.

There
are at present four distinct war theaters: Afghanistan-Pakistan, Iraq,
Palestine and Libya.

An
attack on Syria would lead to the integration of these separate war
theaters, eventually leading towards a broader Middle East-Central
Asian war.

In
Part I of the online
interactive I-Book,
an introductory essay is presented.

Part
II examines the nature of the
US-NATO-Israel sponsored insurgency, including the recruitment of
terrorists and mercenaries. It also includes an examination of a 1957
Anglo-American covert intelligence plan to destabilize Syria and
implement "regime change". The
1957 plan envisaged the triggering of "internal disturbances as well as
the mounting of "sabotage and coup de main (sic) incidents" by the CIA
and MI6. What this
essay suggests is continuity, i.e. today's Intel. Ops, while more
sophisticated than those of the Cold War era, belong to realm of DÉJÀ
VU.

Part
III examines the complicity of
the "international community" focussing respectively on the role of
non-governmental organizations, the dynamics within the United Nations
Security Council and role of the Arab League, acting on behalf of
Washington.

Part
IV centers on the insidious
role of the corporate media, which has carefully distorted the facts,
providing systematically a biased understanding of the causes and
consequences of the Syrian crisis.

Part
V focusses on the broader
military agenda and the process of military escalation in the Middle
East.

The road
to Tehran goes through Damascus. A US-NATO sponsored war on Iran would
involve, as a first step, a destabilization campaign ("regime change")
including covert intelligence operations in support of rebel forces
directed against the Syrian government.

A war on
Syria could evolve towards a US-NATO military campaign directed against
Iran, in which Turkey and Israel would be directly involved. It would
also contribute to the ongoing destabilization of Lebanon.

It is
crucial to spread the word and break the channels of media
disinformation.

A
critical and unbiased understanding of what is happening in Syria is of
crucial importance in reversing the tide of military escalation towards
a broader regional war.

Michel
Chossudovsky, Montreal, February 11, 2012

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